DOWNEY - Cash and in-kind donors to the Downey Unified School District were extra generous as last Christmas approached, which the Board gratefully acknowledged, with the Downey Kiwanis Foundation donating $50,000 to West Middle School to be used for technology, while $4,500 was gifted by the Alameda PTA, $5,000 was donated by Carpenter PT, and $9,000 came from Gallatin PTA -all for field trips, with a portion of Carpenter's $5,000 earmarked for a fifth grade party.Other large and small donations included $7,200 worth of baked goods from Porto's Bakery, along with various other generous donations from a number of donors, benefiting the TLC Family Resource Center; $2,000 worth of art supplies from Barbara Gorman, for use in the art classes at Downey High School; $2,000 from the Ellen and Clarence Peterson Foundation for eyeglass frames and lenses for needy students; a donation of a photo enlarger worth $1,500 from Michael Kalas to be used in the photo class at Downey High; a donation of three portable bleachers likewise valued at $1,500 from Downey Studios for use at Warren High; as well as a combined $2,114 from several DUSD employees via voluntary payroll deductions in support of TLC Family Resource Center. Meanwhile, the Board: •Received the audit report on all district funds and accounts by its long-time auditors, Vavrinek, Trine, Day & Co., which gave an 'unqualified opinion' (meaning "A-OK") on the district's accounting/budgeting procedures; •Approved and ratified routine district business including: the payment of convention and conference expenditures and other fees; special education placements; purchase orders by the purchasing department; the issuance of payroll orders for hourly, overtime, and Civic Center performed by classified personnel, Adult School and Food Services; B warrants covering the month of December; the agreements between the Downey Adult School Career and Education Center and several clinics/medical groups to furnish practical training in the dental assistant, medical assistant, and medical billing and coding programs; accepting as complete fencing, concrete, and electrical work performed by various contractors; adjustments to the unrestricted and restricted 2010-11 general and adult education funds, as well as to the restricted budget of the cafeteria fund; and the establishment of limited-term positions (with duties generally aligned with those of senior instructional assistant) assigned to different schools; and •Ratified the general agreement with Hillsides Education Center to provide special education and/or related services to DUSD students with 'exceptional' needs; •Ratified BP and AR 3150 which aims at helping Title 1 students (those needing supplementary services to meet challenging academic standards) to attain proficiency on state standards and assessments; •Ratified the second amendment to the Restated Ground Lease Agreement between lessor DUSD and lessee Brookshire Partners, effective Dec. 1, 2010 through April 30, 2060, regarding the real property bounded by Iowa St. on the north, Davis St. on the south, Brookshire Ave. on the east and Dolan St. on the west; •Ratified the legal service agreement with Dannis Woliver Kelley, a professional corporation, to be used on an as needed basis only, effective Jan. 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012; •Ratified both the student teaching and placement agreements with Whittier College; •Authorized the advertisement for bids for the construction and installation of an addition to the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fueling station, Transportation Services Department; •Awarded the winning bids for different kinds of stock paper (standard bond white paper, standard color stock paper, and astrobright paper) to three bidders (Unisource Worldwide of La Palma, Xpedx of Fullerton, and Quill Corp. of Lincolnshire, Illinois); •Reviewed the proposed new BP and AR 2109 on Open Enrollment Act (the "Romero Bill") transfers, which allows pupils attending the 1,000 lowest-achieving schools (now referred to as 'open enrollment schools') to apply to higher achieving schools, regardless of their residence; the subject elicited much discussion among board members and management staff, a common concern being the possible influx of 'unwanted' or 'disruptive' students; in any case, it was agreed that a further review and study of the proposed required policies and regulations be made; and •Endorsed the actions of the superintendent on student cases. The next meeting of the Board will be at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2011 at the Gallegos Administration Center, 11627 Brookshire Ave.

********** Published: January 13, 2011 - Volume 9 - Issue 39